DALLAS, Ga. (AP) — A group of Paulding County residents has filed a third legal challenge to plans to create what would be another commercial airport for metro Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the latest lawsuit challenges airport leases and a loan made to fund a taxiway expansion.

The lawsuits are aimed at stopping plans to commercialize flights at Silver Comet Field northwest of Atlanta.

Backers of bringing commercial air service to the Paulding County airport have encountered a series of setbacks — and their hopes for an announcement of new air service have been pushed off to next year.

Brett Smith, whose company is partnering with Paulding County on the idea and would operate the airport under contract, has said the obstacles are merely "bumps along a much longer road."

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

_____

Mental health crisis centers open in south Georgia

VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Mental health crisis centers are opening or being expanded in south Georgia to accommodate patients from a state hospital that's closing.

The Valdosta Daily Times reports that hundreds of patients with mental and behavioral issues will be displaced in the region with the closure of Southwestern State Hospital in Thomasville.

The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Disabilities has announced that the Thomasville facility will close Dec. 31. The closure is part of the agency's goal of moving patients from state hospitals to community-based settings.

The agency on Monday opened a new Behavioral Health Crisis Center in Lowndes County. The Valdosta newspaper reports that a similar center in Albany is being expanded and another center identical to the one in Valdosta will open in Thomasville.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a 60-year-old Georgia man has been arraigned on second-degree murder charges in the killing of his wife in Syracuse nearly 30 years ago.

Onondaga County prosecutors say 60-year-old Ronald Meadow of Dallas, Ga., was arraigned in county court Monday, two days after he was brought back to New York. He's being held in the county jail pending a bail hearing Jan. 6.

Prosecutors announced Dec. 12 that the Atlanta-area auto plant worker had been arrested for strangling his 27-year-old estranged wife, Colleen. Her bound body was found inside her apartment in March 1985 after she failed to report to work.

James McGraw, Meadow's lawyer, says his client is innocent of the charges.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

_____

Trapper reports progress in Columbus wild hog hunt

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — A trapping firm hired by Columbus city officials to rid neighborhoods of wild hogs has made progress.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports that the company, Jager Pro, trapped and killed seven of the animals over the weekend.

Company founder Rod Pinkston says he thinks concerns about the animals along Chattsworth Road are resolved for the time being, but other areas could still see problems with wild hogs. He said his company has set up bait sites in a couple other areas which are being monitored.

Pinkston said he expects his company and the city to get more calls as the acorn crop continues to dwindle, forcing the hogs to roam and root more.

The city contracted with the company after receiving growing reports of wild hogs encroaching on residential areas.

EAST POINT, Ga. (AP) — Police in suburban Atlanta say a person suspected of trying to break into a house was fatally shot by the homeowner.

East Point police spokesman Cliff Chandler says the would-be burglar was shot after trying to enter the back door of an occupied house Tuesday morning.

Police say the attempted burglar used a shovel to break through a patio door and collapsed into the homeowner's yard after being shot.

The intruder was pronounced dead on the scene and authorities have not yet released the suspect's identity.

Chandler says the shooting appears to have been an act of self-defense, but police will investigate the shooting as a homicide.

East Point is about six miles southwest of downtown Atlanta.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

_____

Northwest Georgia man killed in tractor accident

ROME, Ga. (AP) — Floyd County coroner's officials say a northwest Georgia man was killed when his tractor rolled over him during a farming accident.

Deputy Coroner Gene Proctor told the Rome News-Tribune (http://bit.ly/1cjrK8t) that 70-year-old Franklin Ray Folsom was trying to jump-start his tractor when it began running and rolled over him Monday afternoon.

Authorities say the tractor kept running and crashed through a fence before stopping in a wooded area.

Proctor says Folsom was the father of a fire department captain and the grandfather of a Floyd County Police Department patrolman.

*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, spam, and links to outside websites will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides